Angela Lansbury Says ‘Murder, She Wrote’ Reboot is a ‘Mistake’

Remakes and reboots have long been all the rage on the big screen, but it looks like the trend is now ramping up on television as well. For every Hawaii Five-0 (now in season 4), there is a revamped Ironside or The Munsters that fails to find an audience. However, few projects have aimed to revive as iconic a series (or character) as NBC’s planned Murder, She Wrote reboot.

News recently broke that the network aims to bring a new version of the 1984-1996 series to the airwaves and has tapped Academy Award-winning actress Octavia Spencer (The Help) for the lead. She will be playing a self-published mystery author and amateur sleuth who winds up getting involved in actual investigations. It remains unclear whether or not Spencer’s character will bear any connection to the original show’s Jessica B. Fletcher – as played by Angela Lansbury – though it seems unlikely, considering that the network is reportedly interested in involving Lansbury in the production.

Now, thanks to the Associated Press, we have Lansbury’s first comments on the Murder, She Wrote reboot. Here’s what she had to say about the project:

“I think it’s a mistake to call it Murder, She Wrote because Murder, She Wrote will always be about a Cabot Cove and this wonderful little group of people who told those lovely stories and enjoyed a piece of that place, and also enjoyed Jessica Fletcher, who is a rare and very individual kind of person … So I’m sorry that they have to use the title Murder, She Wrote, even though they have access to it and it’s their right.”

Lansbury makes a good point with regards to the show’s title, as the concept of a crime-solving writer is essentially already on the air in the form of ABC’s Castle. Considering how key the character of Fletcher is to Murder, She Wrote, the new series does sound like it will truly be its own experience and have little in common with the original show, aside from the brand recognition of the name (a fact NBC is, no doubt, banking on boosting its chances of success).

However, Lansbury said she has no ill will towards Spencer, despite her feelings about the new show.

“I saw her in The Help and thought she was absolutely wonderful, a lovely actress. So I wish her well, but I wish it wasn’t in Murder, She Wrote.”

The original show made Lansbury internationally known and earned her 12 consecutive Emmy nominations. We’ve already shared our thoughts on the idea of a Murder, She Wrote reboot but are interested in your thoughts.

Do you agree with Lansbury that the new Murder, She Wrote is a mistake, or are you looking forward to a new spin on the classic mystery series? Sound off in the comments section below.